-Growing interest in MICE business in Singapore<\/p>\n
-Singapore retains its status as Asia's top MICE destination<\/p>\n
Singapore has served as a trading hub and financial center for
\nSoutheast Asia thanks to its strategic location and environment
\nconducive to international business activities.<\/p>\n
Located on the crossroad of the world on the Strait of
\nMalacca, Singapore is a home to at least 7,000 multinational
\ncorporations and several thousands of financial institutions and
\ntrading firms. Numerous multinational companies have set up their
\nheadquarters in the country, not only to enable them to run their
\nbusiness more efficiently but also to have an easy access to
\nglobal markets.<\/p>\n
Customarily, the companies conduct corporate activities like a
\nmeeting and training in Singapore as an essential part of their
\nbusiness. Many of them showcase their products to expand their
\nnetwork and to seek out business opportunities. Additionally,
\nmany overseas companies frequently send their employees or staff
\nto Singapore for holiday or leisure travel as an incentive or
\nreward for their best performance.<\/p>\n
It is no wonder that Singapore does not only provide tailored-
\nmade quality meeting and exhibition facilities but also related
\nservices and arranged programs in parallel with the rapid growth
\nof meeting, incentive, conventions and exhibitions (MICE)
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
Most top star or international chain hotels are equipped with
\nsuperb meeting rooms and exhibition spaces. The meeting venues
\nare catered to international customers' variety of needs, whether
\nfor a corporate meeting, workshop or training with 20
\nparticipants or a symposium with over 500 delegates. Particular
\nhotels even feature a conference room with a seating capacity of
\nover 3,000 guests. With Singapore being the third most wired
\nnation in the world and the most wired in Asia, Internet and
\nteleconferencing services are available at many business hotels
\nand venues.<\/p>\n
For large-scale convention and exhibition space, there are
\nSuntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Center
\nand Singapore Expo, with each being able to accommodate up to
\n12,000 persons. With spacious exhibition halls, Singapore Expo is
\nsuitable for mega trade exhibitions.<\/p>\n
No less important in MICE industry is the arranged programs
\nprovided for MICE travelers. Apart from the corporate meeting or
\ntrainings, MICE visitors are often engaged in leisure activities
\nthat include joining a Night Safari, the world's first tourism
\nattraction, exploring different cultures of multi-racial
\nSingapore by strolling through respective ethic zones - China
\nTown, Little India, Geyland Serai, Arab Street or Katong - , a
\nvisit to Sentosa Island and joining a team-building program.<\/p>\n
From year to year, Singapore's Business Travel MICE (BTMICE)
\nsegment has grown significantly. In addition to its strategic
\ngeographical position as the gateway of Asia and state-of-the-art
\nmeeting facilities, Singapore is also well known for its
\naccessibility, efficient public transportation and strong
\ncommitment to security.<\/p>\n
MICE visitors from many overseas countries have easy access to
\nSingapore thanks to its excellent air connectivity. The award-
\nwinning Changi Airport serves at least 3,544 weekly flights by 76
\ninternational airlines to over 175 cities worldwide.<\/p>\n
\"Singapore is like another city in Indonesia in terms of
\ndistance and flight. There are frequent daily flights from
\nJakarta to Singapore, Denpasar to Singapore and Yogyakarta to
\nSingapore,\" said Robert Guy, managing director of Pacific World,
\none of Singapore's Destination Management Companies (DMCs),
\nreferring the proximity of Singapore to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
During their stay in Singapore, MICE visitors will find it a
\nbreeze traveling around the country, with its efficient
\ntransportation network of buses, taxis and the modern Mass Rapid
\nTransit (MRT) rail system. The country's electronic road pricing
\nsystem allows vehicles to travel on free-flowing expressways.<\/p>\n
\"Singapore has high standard of service. From the moment I
\narrived at the airport, being transferred to a hotel and traveled
\naround the city, I felt convenient and comfortable,\" said US-
\nbased Motivation's director Josh Brown who joined STB's
\neducational familiarization program recently.<\/p>\n
Another pivotal aspect in MICE business in Singapore is
\npersonal safety because with safety MICE visitors can focus on
\ntheir business opportunities. Visitors can go home to their hotel
\nor apartment from a cafe late at night without feeling of being
\nafraid or threat. \"Our government is committed to safety,\" said
\nSingapore Tourism Board's (STB) business travel & MICE division
\nmanager Magdalen Chua Wen Xian.<\/p>\n
It is not surprising that Singapore saw an increase in the
\nnumber of business-related visitor arrivals over the past several
\nyears.<\/p>\n
Data at Singapore Tourism Board (STB), showed that the
\ncountry's business-related visitor arrivals reached two million
\nin 2004, accounting for some 26 percent of the country's total
\nvisitor arrivals of 8.4 million.<\/p>\n
\"The 2004's business-related visitor arrivals represent an
\napproximate 60 percent increase over 2003, and a 30 percent rise
\nover 2002,\" said Magdalen.<\/p>\n
Despite the small number, compared to that of leisure travel-
\nrelated visitor arrivals, the business travel contributed more in
\nterms of revenue because business-related visitors had higher
\ndaily spending, she said.<\/p>\n
According to STB, Indonesia ranked top in Business Travel MICE
\n(BTMICE) visitor arrivals for 2004, with 17 percent of the total
\nBTMICE visitor arrivals, followed by Japan and China with 10
\npercent respectively, Malaysia with eight percent, USA and India
\nwith six percent respectively.<\/p>\n
Players in MICE industry hailed government's strong support in
\nthe industry, saying that the government's pro-business
\nenvironment was one of the key success factors.<\/p>\n
\"MICE industry is good for the economy of Singapore due to the
\nmultiplier effects. Visitors to Singapore will keep restaurants,
\nhotels, transportation service providers and other related
\nservice providers afloat,\" said Sylvia Phua, chief executive
\nofficer of Meeting Planners International Pte, a professional
\nconference organizer.<\/p>\n
Certainly, the success story of Singapore's BTMICE segment is
\ninseparable from STB's massive BTMICE promotional campaign.<\/p>\n
Following its success with 'Make It Singapore' campaign, STB
\nwill continue to offer incentives to event organizers till
\nDecember 2005 through 'Make It Singapore Plus' campaign.<\/p>\n
'Make It Singapore', an initiative to attract more MICE
\nbusiness into Singapore launched in 2003, managed to attract
\nabout 40 major events in 2004. \"Some of the events took place in
\n2004 and many others are scheduled to be held here by the end of
\n2007,\" STB said.<\/p>\n
The events will collectively generate 60,000 visitor nights
\nand an estimated S$50 million tourism receipts.<\/p>\n
STB said that 'Make It Singapore Plus' uses visitor nights,
\ninstead of room nights, as qualifying criteria that event
\norganizers must fulfill in order to enjoy campaign's incentives.
\n\"This change of criteria will make it easier for event organizers
\nto qualify for the incentives offered,\" it said.<\/p>\n
Under the campaign, event organizers are entitled to
\nattractive benefits, including better event-enhancement value-
\nadds in the form of videography services, the provision of
\nwelcome gifts for foreign delegates, team-building activities for
\ncorporate meetings and incentive groups and publicity support.<\/p>\n
STB's acting assistant chief executive for BTMICE Aloysius
\nArlando said that to qualify for the campaign's incentives, event
\norganizers were required to confirm their events in Singapore by
\nDecember 31, 2005, with the event held in the country by 2007.<\/p>\n
\"We are encouraged by the positive response to 'Make It
\nSingapore' over the past year, and we are confident that 'make It
\nSingapore Plus' will be an invaluable tool in our efforts to
\nsecure even more major international MICE events for Singapore,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
The 'Make It Singapore Plus' campaign is expected to generate
\n100,000 visitor nights and an estimated S$100 million in tourism
\nreceipts.<\/p>\n
No doubt, with the aforementioned superiorities and
\nadvantages, Singapore will remain Asia's most favorite MICE
\ndestination.<\/p>\n
1<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/growing-interest-in-mice-business-in-singapore-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }